The Roommate Pact(80)
“Yeah. I, uh, lied. It was Claire’s idea to go camping, not mine. You two have fun and I’ll be back with the car on Sunday. I hope you get everything figured out by then.”
Noah winked and picked up a jog down the trail, quickly disappearing between the thick trees.
Graham turned back to Claire and blinked. He expected her to say something. Explain herself and what this was all about, maybe?
But she didn’t, and he couldn’t stand to look at that gorgeous face he loved, knowing she wasn’t his. And he wasn’t hers.
He dropped his gaze several inches.
“Are you staring at my breasts?” she asked sharply.
“Seemed like the safer choice.”
“Safer for what?”
He cleared his throat. “My sanity.”
“I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or an insult.”
“I’m not sure, either.”
With a sigh, he stepped forward and swung his own pack from his back, letting it hit the ground beside Noah’s. Or Claire’s, apparently.
He resisted a smile when he saw what appeared to be Claire’s attempt to set up the tent. After witnessing her response to Noah’s offer to finish it, he decided to let it be for now.
He straightened, faced her, and slid his hands in his pockets. “You gonna tell me why I’m here?”
Why we’re here?
He had a few thoughts, of course, most of them hopeful and dangerous to entertain.
Her eyes scrolled down his body slowly, lingering on his right leg. “Do you, um, need to sit down or anything?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Feels great.”
She nodded, her brows relaxing. “That’s good.”
In a flash, the arrogant demeanor she’d reflected when they first arrived was gone, replaced by something softer.
“It’s probably pretty obvious,” she started, gripping her hands in front of her. “This is my attempt to win you back.”
Graham’s knees nearly gave out.
Maybe he should have sat down when he had the chance.
Stay calm. Collected. “Win me back?” His voice came out strong and steady. Keep it up, man. You got this.
“As you know, I’m not really the camping type. But you love it so much I thought it might be different to experience it through your eyes. Maybe you could show me what I’ve been missing.”
He let himself focus on her eyes. Even from several feet away, he saw apprehension in those hazel depths.
“Also, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to butter you up a little, and you’d be more likely to forgive me if you were in your happy place.”
She was his happy place, but she didn’t need to know it yet.
What she had to say was probably just as important for her as it was for him.
“I have no idea what you’re thinking right now, but your silence is ideal and I’m just gonna go with it. I don’t want to forget anything I wanted to say. Here goes.” She breathed deeply, shaking her hands out. “Obviously I’ve had a lot of time these last two months to think. About us and what happened. There were days I felt justified in my decision and others where I just knew I’d ruined both our lives and I was officially the stupidest woman on the planet. But I wanted to take the time to really get ahold of myself and figure things out. I talked to my mom, I talked to Mia, and I even started dating a little.”
Graham stiffened, hoping she wouldn’t stay on that point for long.
“Through it all, one thing remained constant. I missed you. And not just the obvious stuff, like your smile that stops my heart or that thing you do with your tongue when we kiss. I missed your sarcasm and the way you’re always up to go out. I missed ordering takeout with you and pretending I can’t do stuff around the house so you’ll do it for me and I can watch your forearms work. I missed the way you look at me and feeling like I can be myself and you’ll still like me.
“But even so, I was scared. I’m still scared. My decision to change my mind—and I’ll get to that part in a second—doesn’t mean I’m not going to worry about you all the fucking time. It’s important you know up front that we’ll probably fight about that. I’ll yell if you do something reckless, or if you take hours to call me back when you’re on shift at the fire station. I can’t just turn it off and I won’t be easy. But if there’s one thing I know about you it’s that you don’t shy away from a challenge. You face it head-on, and I hope you’ll do that with me.”
Graham’s chest was so tight he could hardly breathe. Just when he was about to ask what changed her mind, she kept going.
“I was in a car accident a few days ago, and—”
“What?” He lurched forward, canvassing her person, searching for sign of injury. “What happened?”
She held out her hand when he was three feet away. “I’m fine, Graham. Don’t touch me. Please, not yet—I want to get through this. I can’t if you put your hands on me.”
Oof. Hard same.
“Some guy crossed the centerline, and instead of swerving I hit the brakes. It was a weird reaction, maybe, but I didn’t even think about it. I got rear-ended because I stopped so quick and the guy that had been coming head-on clipped the front driver’s side. The airbag knocked me out. I’m a little sore, but otherwise I’m completely fine. I promise, okay? Stop looking at me like that.”